Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints, who won the first Super
Bowl in their franchise's history with a 31-17 win over the
Indianapolis Colts.

Saints QB Drew Brees was named the MVP of the game
with 32 completions in 39 attempts for 288 passing yards, two
touchdowns, no picks and a QB rating of 114.5.

Even more amazing, the Colts jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first
quarter, but the Saints proceeded to outscore them 31-7 going forward.
It was a proud moment for a franchise that has been short on them.

The
Saints have an overall franchise record of 275-378-5 and they won more
playoff games this postseason (three) than they had in franchise
history (two). This is a huge moment for a city that was devastated by
Hurricane Katrina just four years ago. The city has rallied behind this
team ever since and this is the crowning moment for this franchise and
the city of New Orleans.

There were a lot of big plays in this game, but the two biggest by
far were an onside kick and an interception. Coming out of the half the
Saints were down 10-6. They needed to jumpstart their offense, but the
Colts were going to receive the kickoff. Head coach Sean Payton made a gutsy call by deciding to go for an onside kick and the Colts were caught off guard and the Saints recovered.

That led to a touchdown and turned the momentum in the Saints'
favor. Had that play not worked, the Colts would have had excellent
field position and could have probably scored a touchdown. In that
event, Payton would be hearing it today.

The other big play was a fourth quarter interception by CB Tracy Porter. The Saints were ahead 24-17 with a little over three minutes left in the fourth quarter. QB Petyon Manning and WR Reggie Wayne
have played together since 2001, yet for whatever reason they were not
on the same page on that play. Porter picked off the pass and returned
it for a 74-yard touchdown, ending any hope of a comeback.

I think the two people that are elevated the most by this
performance are Brees and Payton. For Brees, this probably is the
defining moment in what should now be a Hall of Fame career. Coming
into the game, Brees had 30,646 passing yards and 202 touchdown passes.
If he keeps playing at this level for the next five years, he should
finish with 50,000 passing yards and 300 touchdowns, which would put
him in the top ten statistically all-time.

Coming into this postseason, he had a playoff record of just 1-2. It
was going to be hard for him to be considered a Hall of Fame
quarterback without a better playoff showing. By having a postseason
with eight touchdowns and no picks while outplaying three future Hall
of Famers in the playoffs (Kurt Warner, Brett Favre
and Manning); Brees won the MVP of the Super Bowl and cemented his
legacy. While I do not think he can retire today and be considered a
Hall of Fame player; with another three or five Pro Bowl seasons, he is
going to end up in that elite company.

Payton is a little tougher to decide, because he has only been a
head coach since 2006 and a 38-26 record with one Super Bowl is too
light of a resume to decide. What this victory does do is thrust him
into the conversation of being one of the elite coaches in the NFL. To
be in that company after just four years is an amazing accomplishment.
We will see where his career goes going forward, but Payton went from
innovative play caller to Super Bowl champion this year and the future
is bright for this very creative and innovative head coach. For a team
to go from 15-17 in 2007 and 2008 to Super Bowl Champions is a great
accomplishment.

As for the Colts,
Manning critics are going to cite this as evidence that Manning is not
good in big games. Manning did not play a bad game, but on a day when
he needed to play his best game, he did not deliver. Manning was
31-for-45 with 333 yards passing, but had only one touchdown, one pick
and a QB rating of 88.5. His offense was held to 17 points and his
interception took the Colts out of a scoring chance to tie the game and
sealed their demise.

I do not think that is entirely fair to put this all on Manning. I
do not think one throw defines a quarterback's legacy and making the
Super Bowl is still an impressive feat. While Manning is never going to
be mentioned in the same postseason breath as Bart Starr, Joe Montana or Tom Brady;
nine playoff wins and a Super Bowl ring are nothing to scoff at.
Manning's legacy is secure, even with that pick and that loss.

Here is the problem with the Colts. This team feels a lot like the
Atlanta Braves. From 1991 to 2005, the Braves won 14 straight division
titles. They made five World Series, but had just a 1-4 record in those
World Series. The Colts led the NFL in wins this decade with 115 wins
and 45 losses or a winning percentage of .719. The Colts won the AFC
South six times and had the No. 1 seed three times. Yet, they won only
one Super Bowl this decade.

Teams do not become legendary by winning regular season games; they
become legendary by winning Super Bowls. On the one hand only six
franchises won a Super Bowl this decade and only two of them one more
than one. Saying the Colts won only one Super Bowl is not fair; it
diminishes how difficult it is to win a Super Bowl. However, there is
an incomplete feeling about this team. Based on what they did in the
regular season this decade, this team should have more Super Bowl rings
and anytime a team comes up short in the postseason with that type of
regular season success, the Hall of Fame quarterback is going to be the
first place critics look.

Manning is still the only quarterback in the history of the NFL to
win a Super Bowl in a postseason where he threw more interceptions than
touchdowns. The team he beat in the Super Bowl (Chicago Bears) was led
by the immortal Rex Grossman. Manning is already one
of the 10 best quarterbacks to ever play the game and he could go down
as the best in NFL history, depending on where his career goes from
here. The blemish on his resume is going to be the postseason and he
missed a golden opportunity to end that criticism once and for all
against a much better team with a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback.

Instead of talking about leading a game tying score in the Super
Bowl and winning the game, we are talking about another devastating
playoff loss and a costly interception. For all of his accomplishments
he is just 9-9 in the postseason and it is only going to be harder to
make the Super Bowl going forward. Eighthy percent of the Super Bowl
starting quarterbacks have been between 26 and 34. Manning turns
34-years-old this year and his best targets (Wayne and Dallas Clark) are both 30-years or older. This is a veteran team that does not have a lot of chances left.

I was wrong about the Colts this year, I thought they would struggle to qualify for the playoffs without head coach Tony Dungy there and Jim Caldwell
did an unbelievable job of keeping this team focused and in the Super
Bowl hunt. What we know is that Super Bowl windows do not stay open
forever and the Colts have been a perennial Super Bowl contender since
2003, which means they are at about seven years. They are certainly
closer to the end than the beginning.

While I did not believe it to be the case at the beginning of the
season, I will not doubt the Colts in 2010. The Colts should be a
contender next year for the Super Bowl, but the problem is that they
have to start back at square one with 31 other teams. The Saints are a
great team, but they are not an all-time great team and most of the
experts had the Colts winning this game.

It does not become any easier
in 2010 and the Colts are left to think about what might have been. Had
they just executed a few plays they would be hoisting their second
Lombardi Trophy in the Manning era. The line between good and great is
a very thin line and the Colts are going to be thinking about this lost
opportunity for a long time.